Ugly or not, this was a win Union needed

Sporting Kansas City defender Aurelien Collin blocks the progress of Union forward Andrew Wenger during the first half of their match Wednesday, a much-needed 2-1 win for the visitors. (Associated Press

In praising his team’s defensive rigidity and its newfound clinical finishing — even through brusquely dismissing a question from a media member about the Union’s “fouling and time-wasting shenanigans” — Hackworth sounded like someone who’d had a great weight lifted off his shoulders by his team’s 2-1 win at Eastern Conference-leading Sporting Kansas City.

But within the praise lay a caveat about his team’s play.

“I can’t say enough about the guys in our locker room,” Hackworth said. “That was an incredibly gutsy performance against probably the best team in the MLS, coming into a very difficult place to play…

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“They fought through. We didn’t play our best soccer. It might have been in some respects one of our poorest performances soccer-wise, but we got the goal that mattered.”

Therein lies the central conundrum of the Union’s season, one which Hackworth has wrestled with for the better part of the last two seasons. For whatever reason, the categories of “beautiful soccer” and “winning soccer” have been mutually exclusive in Hackworth’s tenure with the Union.

Last year’s threat for a playoff spot featured soccer that was effective, if not particularly attractive. This season has been characterized by imposing performances, sometimes dominantly so, that have for one reason or another not translated into the expected points.

There’s no doubt that the win in Kansas City was of 2013 vintage for the Union (2-5-5, 11 points), which broke a franchise-record nine-game winless streak.

They were roundly outpossessed, 66.4-33.6. They completed barely half as many passes as their opponents (277 at a passing accuracy of 71 percent to the home side’s crisp 548 and 82 percent). And they were carded four times, including Corben Bone’s straight red within a minute of entering the fray in the 90th minute, and committed 20 fouls to SKC’s six.

Yet somehow, in a season when they’ve done everything right except for win, the Union did just about everything they could to lose in a venue that’s normally unforgiving of such errors, yet still won.

Somehow, a dismissive “go figure” doesn’t quit capture it.

“You saw a little bit of a different team tonight,” said Danny Cruz, who scored the opening goal, his first of the season. “You saw a team willing to fight for each other. It reminded me a lot of last year. We had a lot of shots. At the end of the day, we’ve been lacking that fight and it came out today.”

That fight was nowhere more evident than after Dom Dwyer’s goal in the 80th minute, which the Union pegged back within a minute thanks to Cristian Maidana’s first MLS goal. The persistence manifested in a composed defensive performance — with Austin Berry and Sheanon Williams in the center of midfield and Amobi Okugo sliding up to midfield in the absence of Brian Carroll, Maurice Edu (both injuries) and Michael Lahoud (international duty). And it underpinned the five saves made by Zac MacMath, including a pair of fine reflex saves in the first half that stole the points for the visitors.

“We showed a lot of fight tonight,” MacMath said. “Especially giving up a goal late and coming back and scoring another goal and holding out to the end. I think it showed a lot of confidence in the team and hopefully we’ll take that into the rest of the season.”

The performance in SKC was vital to get the Union out of the doldrums and relieve some of the pressure on the manager, typified by Cruz and the rest of the team sprinting over to celebrate with Hackworth after the first goal, exchanging encouragement that communicated, in Cruz’s words, “that goal is for you.”

But the reminder that the Union can win, and win ugly, means the age-old decision resurfaces for Hackworth, one of idealism vs. pragmatism. Play the beautiful, open brand of soccer that Hackworth has vocally advocated and assembled various pieces for, or the rugged, workman-like version that served them well last year but was merely a stopgap measure to suit the pieces assembled.

The styles can be melded, for sure; for proof, look no further than Vincent Nogueira, who might not have been at his creative best but turned in a sturdy, man-of-the-match performance before being subbed off in the 89th minute (his first sub of the year) with barely enough gas left in the tank to reach the touchline. Elements of last year’s success — finishing chances, defending resolutely and avoiding the breakdowns that have often doomed the Union this season — must be incorporated into the new style of play.

Wednesday’s win comes with another implication: The Union showed the ability to go into one of the league’s most daunting environments without two of its most omnipresent players and beat the MLS Cup holders and one of the league’s hottest teams.

With that potential clearly illustrated in the direst of situations, there’s no other predicament in which the Union can’t win. It’s up to them to prove that to be true week in and week out.